The bishops of the dioceses of Münster, Aachen and Essen have declared that they will not impose sanctions on same-sex blessings, after a priest in the Archdiocese of Cologne was censured for conducting one.
At the end of March, Fr Herbert Ullmann, parish priest of Mettmann, held a blessing service for “all couples who love one another” which was attended by same-sex couples.
He was anonymously denounced to the Vatican and has been reprimanded by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne.
The cardinal said that same-sex blessings are strictly forbidden in the Catholic Church, but his response attracted both direct and implied criticism in Germany.
“In these crisis-ridden times when we as a Church – and especially we as its ordained representatives – have been bruised and battered and for a great many people have – rightly – become a bone of contention, a priest who conducted a blessing service for two people who love one another has been anonymously denounced in the highest circles and sanctioned,” wrote Fr Frank Heidekamp, the city dean of Düsseldorf, on social media.
“The mercy which Jesus proclaimed and practised has had to give way to the letter of canon law and is a further blow for the credibility of the Church.”
The vicar-general of Essen, Fr Klaus Pfeffer, told the daily Rheinische Post that many priests wanted to fulfil remarried divorcees’ and homosexual couples’ wishes for church blessings but such blessings were against canon law.
“Prohibitions and warnings are not the right answer to this conflict of conscience. The answer can only be found by talking things out together and seeking just solutions,” he said.
In a statement on social media, Fr Ullman said: “I respect Cardinal Woelki’s stipulations and will find other ways of supporting people who have got caught in this doctrinal crossfire which affects not only homosexuals but also remarried divorcees.”
The vicar-general of Cologne, Mgr Guido Assmann, defended Cardinal Woelki’s response. The archdiocese followed the Church’s official position “and that is what every priest should do”, he told the Rheinische Post, but added: “Should the Vatican change its opinion on the subject, then the Archdiocese of Cologne will of course do the same.”
Representatives of the German bishops’ conference visited the Vatican at the end of July to discuss the Synodal Path initiative, which had supported the introduction of same-sex blessings.
They met curial officials including Cardinal Luis Ladria, the outgoing perfect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal-elect Robert Prevost, the prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops.
A joint statement from the Vatican and the German bishops said there was a “positive and constructive climate” for the “continuation of the dialogue initiated during the ad limina visit of the German bishops in November 2022”.
That meeting saw the Vatican warn that certain topics were “non-negotiable”, leading to defiant public responses from several bishops in Germany.
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